Williams’ departure casts doubt on Lower Churchill

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – A leading expert says it will be more difficult for Newfoundland and Labrador to secure completion of the Lower Churchill hydroelectric project without Danny Williams at the helm.

Donald Savoie, a professor at the University of Moncton, says the Conservative premier’s stunning decision yesterday to step down from politics could stall the $6.2-billion project that was announced last week.

Savoie says the premier’s powerful personality was the driving force behind an ambitious regional plan that faces many obstacles before it becomes a reality.

Savoie says the project still requires approval from the Innu, who are in the midst of land-claims negotiations with Ottawa.

But Newfoundland economist Wade Locke of Memorial University disagrees.

Locke says the project has enough momentum to move ahead, and he insists the province’s new sense of pride and economic prosperity will ensure it gets done.

The project at Muskrat Falls is getting help from Nova Scotia, where Premier Darrell Dexter says he expects construction of the Maritime transmission link to start within months.